I'm not every woman who's ever had a baby. Some women recover rapidly and within a few weeks they are back to their pre-baby mama selves. I chose to have a child later in life so it's taken me 3.5 years to fully recover...and the journey is ongoing. There are a few things that women are not told about postpartum care that I feel are so important I can't fathom why we are not told these things right away. It's like we are just left (with a screaming newborn baby) to figure it out on our own. So that's what I did. I hope my story can help new mama's or seasoned new mama's to heal faster. 

To start, my first and only birth was a difficult birth. 8 hours of active labor...8 hours of pushing, at home, no relief until the baby was born. But I chose this over going to the hospital because in many ways it was more comfortable for me and the baby. Why can't I push this baby out...I wondered. Why can't I do this! When I heard the midwife discussing "plan B" which I knew would be emergency C-section, I dug down deeper than I ever knew possible to find my warrior spirit. Whatever I have to do to get this baby out I'll do it. One hour later, I pushed him out onto my bed on all fours but he was compound presentation. His arm was up around his chest so that he could put his hand between his neck and the umbilical cord to keep himself from getting strangled. Clever kitten. 

But this position added about 2 inches of girth to his body so he had gotten stuck in my pelvis. As you can imagine, after 8 hours of pushing, my pelvic floor was pretty compromised. Plus I tore, but I didn't feel a thing when it was happening, which was my biggest fear...lol. I did hypno birthing which helped tremendously. I don't know if I would have been able to do it at home without hypnosis. It made hours feel like minutes. After I pushed him out I came right back into my body and I was super present. No drugs necessary. I was grateful.

I remember the first time I tried to walk after giving birth. I could barely stand up and my stomach seemed to fall to the floor. Heal up and get some rest! They said...I had no idea the healing journey ahead of me. I took a few steps to go to the bathroom and I was so exhausted I had to go lay down. For the next few weeks I was waited on my my mother and husband while I nursed my baby and listened to gentle music in the nursery. I took my placenta pills and was feeling stable emotionally. But physically, I was a wreck. My nipples took 3 months to adjust to the constant nursing to where I wan't in feverish nipple pain.

Sex was completely out of the question for about 6 months. Even then it was still uncomfortable. It didn't get comfortable again for about 2.5 years. I peed a little every time I coughed or sneezed. My low back and hips were always burning in pain. I was barely sleeping. Stress levels were high trying to juggle my business and a newborn baby. My stomach wasn't shrinking back to normal even though I was nursing a ton and no matter how I tried I just couldn't loose the baby weight. Then I was diagnosed with Adrenal Fatigue, Hypothyroidism and PreDiabetes... whatever that meant. I didn't want to go onto pharmaceutical drugs...I wanted my life back. What was I going to do?

We moved to Seattle when Elyas was 2 and my healing journey began. I started physical therapy for my diastasis and started doing yoga again. My stomach was getting smaller and my hips were finally coming back together with the physical therapy but then I noticed something else. After years of chronic constipation and a bad Covid cough, all the strain on my pelvic floor created another condition: pelvic organ prolapse. Pelvic Floor Therapy is something that every woman who has a baby should know about and look into. I have been working with my naturopathic doctor (who is female) to correct all of my pelvic floor issued with this therapy and it's given amazing results. I no longer have painful menstrual cramps and my low back pain has lessened. She is teaching me to kegel and strengthen my pelvic floor to correct the prolapse without surgery. And sex is better than ever!

But I kept gaining weight no matter what I did. It was very disheartening. I knew it was related to my thyroid. Then I discovered Medical Medium. It's a complete lifestyle transformation guide by Anthony William who gets all of his healing information (that is so advanced for it's time that it's quite controversial) directly from Spirit. By doing the MM protocol now for 3 months, I have been able to correct my hypothyroidism and prediabetes and I'm finally back down to my pre-baby weight. I've lost 20 pounds and I feel and look like myself again. For so long I had felt like a blob on a log...no energy, body aches, brain fog, acid reflux, constipation, depression, adrenal fatigue, digestive issues....just to name a few of the symptoms I had been struggling with for so long. Now, ALL of those, gone in 3 months! What a game changer. 

The healing journey continues at 3.5 years after the birth...and for the rest of my life! But at least now I feel I have a handle on it and I'm not spiraling out of control with my health. I have a new elevated baseline and I have my life back. I'm glad we waited to have a baby until later in life but I wish I had been given these resources sooner than later. I hope to help other women out there who are struggling to heal from difficult births and I encourage you to check out Medical Medium whether or not you are in postpartum repair. XOXO! ~Levin